What is a shower slide bar and how does it work?

A shower slide bar is a vertical bar mounted on the wall beside a tub or shower, with a holder that slides up and down the bar and locks at the height you choose. You hang a hand shower in that holder, so the same hand shower can be parked high for a standing rinse or low for hands-free use while seated. On an Ella walk-in tub it is an accessory kit, a 24 inch bar with a 5 foot hose and a coupling kit, that works with the hand shower already included with the fast-fill faucet. Should I choose a shower slide bar or a grab bar? explains how it differs from a support bar, and this page explains what the bar is made of, how it holds, how it goes on the wall and what to do when it stops holding.

The Parts of an Ella Slide Bar Kit

The Ella slide bar kit is a 24 inch wall-mounted bar with a sliding holder, a 5 foot hand shower hose and a coupling kit. The first video shows each piece as it is fitted, including the two wall brackets and their chrome covers.

• The bar itself, held to the wall by a lower bracket and an upper bracket. Each bracket is anchored with its own screw and then hidden under a chrome cover that slides over it.
• A short slider, about three inches long, that rides up and down the bar and locks at the height you choose.
• A cradle attached to the slider that rotates to angle the hand shower. Together the slider and cradle make the holder height adjustable and able to pivot from side to side.
• A 5 foot hand shower hose, called the extension line in the video, so the hand shower can reach the bar without strain.
• A coupling kit that seals the hand shower connection at the deck receptacle. A rubber washer in the coupler creates the seal, which is why the kit is also called a leak elimination kit.

The slide bar is an accessory rather than part of the 5-piece fast-fill faucet. The one faucet that already includes a slide bar is the Ella waterfall wall-mount faucet, which ships with its own 24 inch slider bar and hand shower, so you do not add a kit with that faucet.

How the Slide Bar Works

On the 5-piece fast-fill faucet as it ships, the hand shower and its hose sit inside the tub, pushed into the holder on the tub deck. The slide bar simply gives the hand shower a second place to park, on the wall, at whatever height suits the bather. Slide the holder up for a rinse while standing, or down to seated height so the water comes to you with both hands free. The cradle rotates so the spray can be angled toward the bather rather than straight down.

Two details explain why the kit includes more than a bar. First, the holder grips the bar by tension. That is enough to carry a hand shower and hose, and it is what lets you move the holder without tools, but it also means the slide bar is a hand shower holder and not something to hold on to for support. Second, a hand shower pulled out to a wall bar without the extension line and the coupler will be overextended, and the video shows that this creates a leak hazard at the deck receptacle. The coupler makes a waterproof seal at the receptacle, the extension line supplies the reach, and any excess line is fed back down into the receptacle.

How the Slide Bar Is Installed

The bar mounts to the wall and uses the hand shower you already have, so it can go in on installation day or long after the tub is in place, with no change to the tub or its plumbing. The first video walks through the job in this order.

1. Decide where the bar will sit beside the tub and find level. Mark the drill hole for the lower bracket.
2. Drill the lower hole, insert the anchor and tap it in gently until flush, fit the shorter screw and tighten the bracket to the wall. Slide the chrome cover over the bracket.
3. Place the bar into the lower bracket. Before the top is secured, slip the shower head holder onto the bar and then the upper bracket over the bar.
4. Mark and drill the upper hole, insert the anchor, and tighten the longer upper screw, which passes through the hole provided in the bar. Slide the chrome cover over the upper bracket.
5. Remove the hand shower head, attach the coupler and tighten it. Attach the extension line hand tight and feed the excess line into the deck receptacle.
6. Reattach the shower head, place it in the holder, and check that the holder moves up and down and pivots side to side.

If you want the bar added to a tub that is already installed, Can I Add a Hand Shower Slide Bar or Rain Shower Column After My Tub Is Installed? confirms that it can be added at any time. Ella ships the parts and does not send technicians. A homeowner or a local plumber fits the bar.

What a Slide Bar Is Not

It is not a grab bar. Grab bars are the bars meant to be held, and your installer mounts them into the wall's reinforced backing with grab bar screws. A slide bar holds by tension and carries only the hand shower. Most bathrooms end up with both, planned together so the wall openings and backing are located at the same time.

It is not the rain shower column. The column is a vertical riser with an overhead shower head that mounts on the tub deck in the position where the hand shower holder normally sits, and it is supplied from the tub's own diverter. The second video shows that installation: the existing hand shower is removed, the column base attachment is installed into the vacant receptacle, the water supply line is replaced, and a new one-half inch supply line is attached to the diverter on the 2-piece or 5-piece fast-fill faucet. Because the column's connection is made behind the tub, it is best ordered and fitted with the tub, and it is not offered for every model. Does a Walk-In Tub Come With a Shower Head? Riser, Column and Rain-System Options for a Standing Shower compares the slide bar, the column and a wall-mounted rain system before you buy.

It is not included with an Ella shower kit. A shower kit ships with the stall, its grab bar set and the drain, but no shower head, hand shower, mixing valve or slide bar, and the wall arrives without a valve cutout. If you want a hand shower on a slide bar in a shower, choose that hardware with your plumber when you select the valve so the openings can be planned together. What Comes in the Box With an Ella Shower Kit, and What You Still Need to Buy lists what to have on site.

When the Holder Stops Holding

The common failure is a holder that creeps down the bar under the weight of the hand shower. Tightening it usually helps for a short while, but once the slider has lost its tension it will not hold. Before asking for a part, watch the hand shower for a moment after setting it and note whether the whole assembly slides down the bar or the hand shower simply tilts. A tilt means the rotating cradle is loose. A slide means the slider has lost tension. Also make sure the slider is seated squarely on the bar and fully tightened, and that the bar itself is firmly fixed to the wall, because a crooked slider or loose mounts cannot hold. If it grips for a couple of weeks and then gives way again, stop tightening and open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850 with your model and serial number and a photo of the slider and cradle. The replacement holder, or the complete slide bar kit if that is the better fix, ships under the lifetime parts warranty. Slide Bar Holder Will Not Hold the Hand Shower Up: Fixes and Replacement Options has the full checklist.

Watch: Easy Shower Column Installation for Your Walk-In Tub | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

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• Installing the Wall-Mounted Hand Shower Slider Bar and the Extension Coupler So Nothing Leaks Behind the Tub

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